Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts Supplying RNG Resources for Expanded Fueling Station

Clean Energy Fuels has introduced an expanded renewable natural gas (RNG) fueling station in the California city of Carson owned by Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.

The fueling station will provide RNG fuel to the public and Districts’ vehicles, local public transit buses, waste haulers and medium to heavy-duty trucks.

The Districts applied for and received a grant from CalRecycle to make up for a portion of the construction costs. The project is part of the Districts' Food Waste Recycling Program which protects the environment and produces multiple beneficial products for society.

“The Districts were early adopters in using biogas to fuel vehicles and generate power,” said Mark Revilla, Head of Districts’ Solid Waste Management Department. “We are excited to have an expanded facility and proud to support clean fuel vehicle use. Clean Energy has been a good partner on this project.”

The station was designed, constructed and operated by Clean Energy. Located on Figueroa Street in Carion, it will dispense RNG produced from wastewater and organic waste processed at the Districts’ A.K. Warren Water Resource Facility. The remaining fuel will be 100 percent RNG supplied by Clean Energy through utility pipelines.

Clean Energy will look after all station operations and maintenance for 10 years.

The expanded station supports the Sanitation Districts’ goal to convert waste into resources and transition its fleet to cleaner, low-carbon fuels. The station is expected to sell the equivalent of one million gallons of gasoline per year as more fleets, commercial, and passenger vehicles switch to RNG.

Renewable natural gas is a biogas produced from waste such as landfills, water resource recovery facilities, livestock farms, food production and other resources. RNG utilizes methane that otherwise might leak into the atmosphere.

Many environmental scientists say that raw methane is far more damaging as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO2) produced in gas combustion.

Raw biogas has a methane content as low as 45%, so it is refined before conversion into RNG. The process involves removing CO2, moisture and trace contaminants so the methane content can be elevated to 90% or greater, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

This improves energy density and eventually removes more pure methane from potentially getting into the atmosphere.

RNG is only one of many paths to net zero

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